Site crashes as 500,000 attempt to watch livestream

Published: 31 March 2020

Half a million people attempted to watch a livestream of the rededication of England as Mary’s Dowry on Sunday, crashing the website of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, where the ceremony took place. Source: Crux.

Because of restrictions on movement and assembly to slow down the transmission of COVID-19, an estimated 530,000 people attempted to join the rededication by watching livestreaming services from the National Shrine, as well as parishes and churches.

The volume of traffic was so high during the rededication time on Sunday that it caused the website of the Walsingham shrine to crash, along with the livestreams in cathedrals and parishes provided by Churchservices.tv, a technology firm offering media platforms within churches.

Viewers were redirected to watch the event over YouTube instead.

The first dedication of England as Mary’s Dowry was carried out in 1381 by King Richard II amid great domestic turmoil, with the intention that the country was set aside for the guidance and protection of Mary.

In his homily during the rededication, Msgr John Armitage, rector of the Walsingham shrine, said when the English bishops decided in 2017 to rededicate England, “they could never have foreseen the extent of our need at this time.”

“Today we undertake this dedication in the eye of the storm,” he said. “In the face of the peril that we find ourselves in today, in addition to the physical resilience we need to protect ourselves, a stronger spiritual resilience will be needed to survive the ordeal ahead and to rebuild our society in the coming days.

“The fruitfulness of England in the days to come will be dependent on the faithfulness of her people.”

He added that England was at present also “humbled by the dedication of the thousands of men and women, who, in the face of such danger each day, serve the sick and those in need and enable our locked-down communities to survive.”

“May their dedication be blessed, and their spirits be strengthened,” he said.